Finland has been left baffled after Donald Trump praised the country for managing its massive forests by raking.

The US president told reporters while visiting the ruins of the northern California town where a fire killed at least 77 people that wildfires were not a problem in Finland because crews "spend a lot of time on raking".

He went on: "You look at other countries where they do it differently, and it's a whole different story.

"I was with the president of Finland and he said: 'We have a much different… we're a forest nation.' And they spent a lot of time raking and cleaning and doing things, and they don't have any problem."

Finnish President Sauli Niinisto said in an interview published in the Ilta-Sanomat newspaper that he spoke briefly with Mr Trump about managing forests on 11 November when they were both in Paris for Armistice Day commemorations.

Mr Niinisto said their conversation focused on the California wildfires and the surveillance system Finland uses to monitor forests for fires.